


Bury Me Shallow (I'll be Back)

by Metaphorical_Tables



Category: Naruto
Genre: 80 percent Obito 10 percent me, All three of them are fukt up, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, Fake Character Death, Fix-It, Grief/Mourning, Kakashi's Guilt Complex, Mangekyou Sharingan, Medical Jutsu, Mokuton, Moral Dilemmas, Multi, Near Death Experiences, OC insert, Sealing, Self-Sacrifice, Swearing, The power of friendship, Trauma, another reincarnation fic? it's more likely than you think, but they help eachother heal with the POWER OF LOVE, catch me rewriting the entire naruto series exactly the same but with better dialogue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2019-11-15 05:51:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18067793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metaphorical_Tables/pseuds/Metaphorical_Tables
Summary: He was four, almost five, when the memories first started coming in. They were strange, dreams of a different life in a different world. He ate in familiar-yet-not restaurants with people he knew, yet didn’t. He played familiar games he’d never heard of, and watched favorite movies he’d never seen. He sang along to songs he’d never heard and slept in his unfamiliar bed.__________In which Uchiha Obito is more than he appears.





	1. Prologue

Awareness came in stages. At first he was a perfectly ordinary boy, if a bit adventurous; he enjoyed seeing new things. As he grew older, though, more and more, something began to stir in the back of his mind, and he found himself thinking odd things, like his mind was trying to connect with something forgotten.

He was three when his parents died, leaving him alone. His clan cared for him, to an extent, but they all had more important things to worry about. He was paid very little attention, unless he was in trouble. He learned to be loud, to wear his heart on his sleeve (despite what the clan taught), because otherwise, he went unnoticed. 

At age four, he decided he wanted to be a ninja. It wasn’t an uncommon dream, really. Living in a Hidden Village tended to make every little child want to be a shinobi. He decided he’d be the best, because then people would notice him. And if he was a ninja, he’d be able to take care of himself, and no one would call him a burden ever again.

He was four, almost five, when the memories first started coming in. They were strange, dreams of a different life in a different world. He ate in familiar-yet-not restaurants with people he knew, yet didn’t. He played familiar games he’d never heard of, and watched favorite movies he’d never seen. He sang along to songs he’d never heard and slept in his unfamiliar bed.

He was five when he started at the academy. He struggled to keep up with the other clan kids, but was at least better than the civilian children. There was a boy in his class that was younger than everyone else, but who was better than all of them. He decided to be the boy’s rival. After all, if he was going to be to best, he had to have strong competition, right?

The boy didn’t take him seriously, and graduated before the year was up.

He made a friend, though, his first friend ever. She was kind, and sweet, and he liked her a lot. The other kids teased him about his crush, but he wasn’t sure that was what he felt for her. He didn’t feel like kissing her or anything. Mostly, he just liked spending time with her.

He was six when it all started making sense. In school, they’d started teaching chakra manipulation, and in retrospect he thought that might have been the trigger. When he went to sleep that night, he was just Uchiha Obito, a normal kid who had some weird dreams. But when he woke up, it was to the realization that he was more than that. He was a reincarnation.

And he was remembering.


	2. A Somewhat Unsettling Realization

The thing about remembering an entire other life is that sometimes the two don’t quite match up. The nature vs. nurture debate may never be completely settled, but both are important in the development of a personality. And technically speaking, being reborn into a different body in entirely different circumstances is a change of nature  _ and _ nurture.

The point was that Obito was a very different person than he remembered being last time. For one, in his last life he was a girl. It was a very odd thing to realise, but he still felt like a boy, so he guessed it didn’t matter much.

For another thing, last time around he felt emotions far less intensely. He supposed being an Uchiha  _ was _ said to have that effect, but no one else had ever  _ turned into _ an Uchiha, so there had been no way to tell for sure.

He’d also been an adult when he died. He couldn’t remember the actual event; after a while the memories just sort of cut off. He couldn’t remember quite a few things, actually. If they followed the pattern of everything else, he’d slowly get those back too. (He wasn’t sure he wanted to remember his death, but it might have been important.)

But the most important thing he remembered was that, in his last life, in a world so different from his own, there was a story. A story about a lonely boy who saved the world.

And Obito was supposed to grow up to be the villain. Which was disheartening, but also meant he had the chance to change things. Not too much, otherwise he’d have no foreknowledge, but if he played his cards right he could stop  _ everything. _ He was the big bad, after all.

Well, other than Madara. But Madara was old.

He thought long and hard about it, and came to the conclusion that the best thing he could do for now was get on with his life. It was too early to change anything, and the memories he’d gained only strengthened his desire to be the best. Because even if he’d been a villain in the other world, he’d been… kind of cool.

(It was really weird to like  _ himself _ as a character.)

Luckily whoever he’d been in his last life had been a huge nerd, because she’d read/watched Naruto enough that Obito had a pretty good grasp on the major plot points. Even if he didn’t really have an idea of a timeline. But that was a fault in the manga, not him.

He’d remembered too late to try to save Sakumo, though. He sort of felt bad about that, but he wasn’t sure there was anything he could have done. A physical attack was one thing, but depression wasn’t something you could fight for someone else. And he didn’t even really know the Hatakes. He had just been in class with Kakashi for less than a year.

He’d have to stick to what he could directly affect, at least for a while.

__________

He ended up asking Rin if she could teach him iryo ninjutsu.

“I don’t think I want to be a medic, not like you,” he said, “But I want to be able to at least keep someone alive long enough for help to come.”

Rin agreed, and started teaching him what she knew. It was slow going, since Obito wasn’t as talented at it as she was, but he was determined to learn. His entire goal was keeping people alive, and this could only help.

But they ran into a problem when it came to studying, because after his parents died no one had ever taught Obito how to read properly. He knew some stuff, and had guessed others via context clues, but everyone had just assumed someone else would teach him.

His extra memories didn’t help either, because his previous reincarnation had spoken and written in a completely different language. He knew a lot of concepts, but didn’t know any of the words for them in Japanese.

Rin was a god send, though, and along with teaching him medical stuff she helped him figure out all the different characters.  _ That _ he picked up quickly, since Uchiha had very good memories even without the sharingan. Soon enough, he’d caught up with the rest of his class in terms of reading level, and with that brought his grades up.

He was no longer the dead last! He wasn’t exactly top of the class, either, but everything was easier when he could understand exactly what it was he was being asked to do.

By the time they graduated, he was hovering at about the middle of the class rankings, and he was a halfway decent baby medic. He passed the final exam, got his hitai-ate, and before he knew it, it was time for team assignments.

Everything went according to script, and Obito wasn’t surprised to find who was on his team. He didn’t have to act excited about being grouped with Rin, though, because he’d been a little worried he’d already changed things enough for it to go differently.

He’d also been a little worried that his extra knowledge would change how he interacted with Kakashi, but tragic backstory or no the bastard was  _ annoying _ . If anything, knowing what he’d grow up to be made Kakashi seem  _ more _ irritating. Because he grew up to be something great! And instead he was just — being a jerk for no reason!

He knew it wasn’t  _ really  _ no reason, but every time he started feeling bad, like he was judging Kakashi too harshly, something from his last life flashed through his mind.

_ Trauma is an explanation, not an excuse. Being hurt doesn’t mean it’s okay to hurt others. _

So, Obito didn’t go out of his way to fight with Kakashi, but something that was consistent along both of his lives was that he was very retaliatory. When someone poked him, he poked back. When someone insulted him, he responded in kind. When someone seemingly  _ went out of their way to criticize everything he did _ …

Minato-sensei he liked, though. Sensei was patient and calm, and actually believed Obito when he said why he was late. He knew Kakashi didn’t, and even Rin sometimes doubted him. But Obito just really liked helping people. Especially the old ladies in the District, who were really the only members of his clan that looked at him with anything other than dismissal or disappointment.

They gave him candy, sometimes, which was awesome because he had an unfortunately large sweet tooth. It was like he got a normal person’s share of candy-loving, and then also stole Kakashi’s. (Because the bastard didn’t like sweet things! Who didn’t like sweet things?!)

It was weird, knowing about things from memories of a story, but also living them. But small stuff, the things that weren’t important plot points, he tended to take with a grain of salt before they were confirmed. Or weren’t, as the case may be. Because whether the manga was a vision of this world, or this world was the result of the manga, the fact remained that said manga was chock-full of inconsistencies.

There was also the fact that a lot of real-life details hadn’t made it into the manga. Like the boring training sessions, and D-Ranks, and that time Kushina-san interrupted a team meeting to tackle-hug and then make out with Minato-sensei.

Kushina-san was awesome, actually. He’d sort of known that, from last time, but actually being in her presence was something else. She was just… so  _ much. _ Obito loved it. And she was the best at pranks. Everything about her was amazing.

The first time he sought her out was after a particularly bad training session, in which Minato-sensei had absolutely destroyed them, despite them working as a team to take him down.

“Kushina-san!” he shouted, then folded forward into a bow. “Please teach me sealing!”

She blinked, caught off guard, before her expression sharpened. “Hmm. Maybe.” She peered assessingly at him. “Why do you want to learn, kid?”

He straightened, eyes sparkling. “Because Minato-sensei just kicked our ass with seals, and it was  _ awesome _ , and you’re better than him.”

Her mouth burst into a wide grin. “Hah! Kid knows the hierarchy!” She reached out and roughly ruffled his hair. “Sure, I’ll teach you. But you better be committed! Sealing ain’t easy.”

He returned her grin, a little less sharp but just as wide, and fired off a sloppy salute. “Yes ma’am!”

She dragged him into a noogie. “Don’t you  _ ma’am _ me, punk!”

“Ah! I’m sorry!” He flailed uselessly, but inside, he felt warm.

__________

Between sealing lessons with Kushina-san (-sensei? Should he call her sensei? Maybe shishou?) medic stuff with Rin, and regular training, like taijutsu, shuriken jutsu, ninjutsu, and a little bit of genjutsu, Obito didn’t have a whole of of free time. But he didn’t mind, because it’s not like he had friends outside the team. Well, maybe Kushina-san counted, but she was basically an honorary member anyway.

When he did have time off, though, he liked to draw. He’d drawn a lot in his first life, and it was a skill he’d like to regain. Plus, drawing would help with sealing, since they were both mostly about getting your lines steady and in the right place.

It was a little frustrating, because he could remember being better than this. But his new body wasn’t used to the motions, didn’t have that muscle memory. His lines turned out shaky, and he could never quite get placements right.

But he kept at it, because he knew the only thing that would help him get better was practice. Besides, he was pretty sure he was already better than he was last time he was this age.

__________

Taking the chunin exams during wartime and with a teammate that had already been promoted was a little weird. He’d gone to a couple when he was younger, and he could remember the chunin exam arc from the story, and it was… very different. For one, the only people taking it were Konoha nin.

He nearly choked to death on a piece of candy, but in the end, he and Rin passed, and joined Kakashi in chunin-land. (Kakashi also technically passed, so he was a chunin twice over. Or something.) 

They started getting sent out on harder missions. In response, training got more intense. They’d all had their first kill before getting promoted, but now at least every other mission resulted in contact with enemy nin. Mission after mission went by, and they got into a few tight spots. They all grew in skill, and saw some pretty bad things.

And Obito still hadn’t unlocked his sharingan.

He had a feeling he wouldn’t, until he was supposed to. Until  _ that _ mission. And… that was the first chance he had to really  _ change _ things. But should he? Did he want to? He didn’t want him  _ or  _ Kakashi to end up crushed under a rock. But… would Kakashi change, otherwise?

He just wasn’t sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've seen so many OC Inserts where they insert into a canon character, and yet??? none of them are Obito???
> 
> It would be the perfect spot to mess everything up!!! No evil Obito = No Madara's plan!!  
> (sorta)


	3. Continuing at an Incline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops, i accidentally posted the wrong chapter at first but it's fixed now!!!

When the day finally came that Kakashi made jonin, Obito was… conflicted. On the one hand, everything was really starting. On the other hand, said “starting” was him getting crushed under a boulder and losing an eye.

Obito still wasn’t one hundred percent sure what he wanted to do about that, but he decided to start by actually getting Kakashi a jonin present. That way if everything went differently, he’d still have gotten something from Obito.

It seemed like the world was out to get him, though, because the day of that mission, his alarm didn’t go off. He rushed around, getting ready as fast as he could, and bolted out the door towards the meeting place. He was in such a rush, he nearly forgot his goggles!

He’d actually tried to be on time, too! He did that a lot more than people thought, really, it’s just that things came up.

“Sorry I’m late!” He wheezed from the full-tilt sprint he’d been in. “My alarm didn’t go off!”

Kakashi “tch”-ed. Sometimes Obito wondered how Kakashi was more Uchiha-like than he was.

Everything went fairly well, until it was time to give gifts. Obito reached into his pocket to grab his gift, only to feel empty fabric. He went through the rest of his pockets, and quickly patted himself down. Nothing.

He put his hands to his head. “Fuck!”

“Language,” said Minato-sensei idly.

“Aaah, I left it on my desk! I can’t go back and get it now!” He pointed at Kakashi. “I’ll get it to you when we get back!”

“Hn.” (God he really was more Uchiha than Obito — ) “I doubt anything from you would be worthwhile anyway.”

God he was  _ such a prick _ . Obito  _ really _ wanted to punch him, but since Kakashi was sort of in charge for this mission it would be insubordination, right? Which was exactly the sort of thing the bastard would hold over his head. 

_ Be the bigger man, Obito, _ he thought to himself,  _ It’s not that hard, he’s kind of short _ . He snorted at that. Amusing himself always made it easier to deal with his uptight teammate.

Soon enough, it was time to start the mission. As they headed towards their destination, Minato-sensei and Kakashi suddenly stopped.

It was starting.

Obito watched as Kakashi argued with Sensei about leadership authority, used his Chidori for the first time, and nearly died from tunnel vision. He waited until Sensei was done lecturing to throw in his two cents;

“Okay, my main issue is that you went  _ through _ the log we were hiding behind,” he said, “You are damn lucky none of us got stabbed by flying wood chips!”

Kakashi huffed. “Well, if you got taken down by a couple of  _ splinters _ you wouldn’t deserve to be a ninja anyway.” He walked away.

Obito grit his teeth, biting back a retort that fell a little below the belt. Why was he so  _ irritating  _ — 

Instead, he turned to Rin and draped himself over her shoulders. “Riiiin. Why do you like him? He’s meeean,” he whined.

She blushed and gently pushed him off by his face. “ _ Obito! _ Shut up!” she whispered.

He leaned back, removing her hand from his face. “Psh, he’s not listening. He’s got  _ important jonin things _ to do.”

“Still!” She mimed shushing him.

Obito rolled his eyes, but smiled. “Fine, no mentioning your  _ super secret crush  _ —”

She held a finger in front of her lips. “Shush!”

He snickered.

Later, that night, he looked up at the sky, admiring the stars and thinking about his future. Tomorrow would decide his fate. He couldn’t really remember everything that was supposed to happen, but he remembered the big things. The sequence of events.

[Rin gets kidnapped. Kakashi prioritizes the mission. Obito yells at him and goes alone.]

[Obito nearly gets killed. Kakashi comes back, and loses an eye. Obito awakens the sharingan.]

[They rescue Rin. Kakashi stumbles. Obito pushes him out of the way of a rock.]

[Obito gets crushed. Obito gives Kakashi his eye. Only two of them get out of the cave before it collapses.]

[Madara finds Obito.]

He shivered, thinking about his fate. But… if things went differently, if Madara didn’t find him, he might never be able to find Madara. And then, the story will go on, just with different players. And Obito could lose his edge.

On the other hand — if he did this, he was in for what was likely to be the most traumatizing experience of his life. Of  _ either _ life. If he even survived. Butterfly effect, he could have changed just enough that the boulder actually kills him.

The crossroads was coming up. Whichever way he chose, there was no going back.

__________

Sure enough, they made contact with enemy nin, and Rin got taken. Obito shoved the thought that he’s  _ right on script _ aside, and argued to rescue her. (She’s his most important person, after all.)

“We need to go after her!”

“The mission comes first!”

“Who cares about the mission!” he waved harshly in the direction she’d been taken. “She’s our teammate! They might hurt her!”

“They’re unlikely to kill or permanently damage her,” Kakashi argued, “She’s a medic, they’ll want to use her to heal their soldiers —”

“You think I don’t  _ know _ that?” Obito growled. “There are plenty of ways to  _ hurt _ someone that don’t leave  _ permanent damage. _ ”

“We can come back for her later. The mission takes priority.”

“Later might not be good enough!”

“The rules say —”

“Oh, it’s always the rules with you! The rules say this, the rules say that! Well, you know what I think?” He stepped forward and waved a hand, gesturing to himself. “Those who break the rules might be trash, but those who abandon their comrades are  _ worse. _ ” On the last word, he reached forward and shoved the other boy away from him.

Kakashi stumbled back, eyes wide.

“Tch.” Obito turned around. “ _ I  _ think your father was a hero, you know,” he said quietly. Then, at normal volume; “I’m going after her. Do what you want.” He leapt off into the trees.

__________

Kakashi had mixed feelings about his teammates. He knew the purpose of the four-man squads that Konoha favored; Teamwork made missions more efficient and raised their success rate. Squads were meant to be balanced, with each person making up for another member’s weak points.

To an extent, it even worked, in Kakashi’s team. Rin was a medic, and could heal their wounds, and Obito had impressive stamina and would eventually unlock the sharingan. In theory, they were fine additions. 

But Kakashi couldn’t help but feel like they slowed him and Sensei down. Rin had little offensive capability, and Obito was a moron. (And they literally  _ slowed them down _ , since they weren’t as fast.) And neither of them followed the  _ rules _ .

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice regarding team placement, so he was stuck with them. Which, wasn’t quite as bad as he initially thought. Rin was polite and disciplined, and Obito had potential.

When Obito started learning sealing from Kushina-nee-san, Kakashi was surprised. The Uchiha had never really struck him as the sealing type. But he was surprisingly good at it. Not Uzumaki good, of course, or even Sensei good, but not terrible. Which was a change, from what Kakashi remembered.

Rin, too, surprised him. At first she’d seemed weak, a somewhat shy girl with no attack power. Then she’d gotten him with a chakra scalpel in a spar, and suddenly Kakashi realized all the offensive applications of iryo ninjutsu. Every medicine is poison, and all that.

He supposed they weren’t the worst teammates he could have ended up with.

But that didn’t mean he’d break the rules for them.

He raced through the trees towards their objective, trying not to think about the confrontation he’d just had with Obito.

_ “Those who break the rules might be trash, but those who abandon their comrades are  _ worse _.” _

He shook his head, trying to clear it. If that were true, his father wouldn’t have — Someone would have… thanked him, or tried to help. But no one did.

_ “ _ I  _ thought your father was a hero.” _

_ Shut up! _ He thought. He stopped running and pressed his hands to his eyes.  _ Shut up, shut up, shut up! If you thought that, why — why didn’t you do anything?! _

But Obito had been too young, and Kakashi knew it. Too young, and too much of a stranger. If  _ Kakashi _ couldn’t keep his father alive, what hope did a stranger, an outsider, have? Neither of them had  _ known _ Obito, except as the dead last in Kakashi’s class.

That thought sparked another, of something Obito had said once, when his class ranking was brought up.

_ “Of course I scored bad, I couldn’t read properly!  _ Rin _ had to teach me!” _

Obito’s life practically revolved around Rin. He’d do anything for her, even just to make her life easier.

_ “There are plenty of ways to  _ hurt _ someone that don’t leave  _ permanent damage _.” _

He thought of Obito’s expression when he’d said that. Angry, yes, but also scared. Desperate.

_ God damn it. _ Kakashi turned around, and started back.

He had a teammate or two to rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing Kakashi is... an experience. He's just so,,, guilty, all the time, which I can't relate to at _all,_ but!!! I try my best!!!
> 
> Oh boy, I wrote this chapter and the next one in one go without actually watching the episode, so...
> 
> I went back and edited it referencing the episode, but??? the dialogue and pacing of Naruto leaves a lot to be desired so I wasn't SUPER faithful to canon,,,


	4. Divergent Paths Towards the Same Destination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moment of truth!!!

Obito ran through the trees, trying to plan a rescue mission. He had some advantage, with knowing generally what to expect, but he was facing two jonin-level nin, one of which could camouflage himself.

Not for the first time, he wished he was better at sensing chakra. Before, he’d consoled himself with the fact that he’d be able to  _ see _ chakra when his sharingan activated, but that didn’t help him now.

He had to get Rin out, and not die in the process. He couldn’t count on Kakashi for backup, either, because one thing he knew for sure was that that confrontation had gone differently in the show.

There was still a possibility he’d come back, but it wasn’t a certainty. He’d have to work with what he had.

He reached the treeline and stopped, looking at the cave where they were holding Rin. It’d take some planning, but hopefully he could perform a one-man extraction. He was more prepared than the Obito in the anime, he had a wider range of skills. You could do quite a lot with sealing.

He was so caught up in his planning, he didn’t notice the blow coming towards him until someone else was taking it for him.

Kakashi screamed, holding his eye.

“Shit!” Obito threw a kunai towards their attacker, then rushed over to his teammate. “Kakashi? Kakashi, are you okay?”

He took his hand off his eye, and sure enough, it was bad.

Obito swore under his breath, eyes stinging. He reached out a hand. “I can’t do much, but let me at least stop the bleeding.”

Kakashi swatted his hand away. “Not now! We need to take care of the enemy first”

Shit, he had a point. “Fine.” He removed his goggles, wiping his eyes with an arm. Stupid over-emotional Uchiha body, making him cry at inconvenient times — “You’re not taking point, though.”

Kakashi hissed in displeasure, but tellingly didn’t argue. They both got out their kunai, Kakashi sitting with his back to the trunk of the tree and Obito standing in front of him.

Turning to face the approximate direction of the enemy, Obito prayed.

_ Come on, everything else has gone the same — _ He grit his teeth.  _ Come on Obito, you can do this. If you don’t activate them, you’re gonna die.  _ **_Kakashi and Rin_ ** _ are gonna die. _

The thought filled him with such fierce desperation, he was worried for a moment he might start crying. When his eyes started burning, he thought he had. But then, everything sharpened.

And he could see the enemy. Right in front of them, and moving to attack.

He whipped forward, driving his kunai into the man’s stomach.  _ Not today, motherfucker. _

Said man coughed up blood, and faded into visibility again. “How — ?!”

Obito stepped back, yanking his kunai out. The man collapsed.

“Obito…?” Kakashi’s voice was filled with cautious hope.

He turned to face him, and met Kakashi’s eye with his own. One grey, two red. He’d activated the sharingan.

Obito got the feeling Kakashi was smirking under his mask. “Well, now we’ve got a chance.”

Obito clicked his tongue. “Now, give me the med-pack Rin gave you so I can patch you up.” He saw Kakashi open his mouth to protest, and kept talking before he could. “You’ve probably already lost the eye, we are  _ not _ risking an infection on top of that.”

Kakashi sighed, but acquiesced. After field dressing the wound, Obito helped him up, and they turned to look at the cave.

“I thought you weren’t coming.”

Kakashi snorted. “I wasn’t. But you’re… surprisingly convincing.”

Without another word, they went to get Rin.

With the sharingan, fighting was so much  _ easier. _ Obito could see his opponent’s moves coming, avoid attacks before they’d even really started. Working together, he and Kakashi made quick work of the man in the cave, then went right to Rin.

They took in her good health and vacant eyes.

“Genjutsu,” said Kakashi, “But why hasn’t she broken it…?”

Obito could see the foreign chakra woven into her system. He tilted his head, trying to interpret what he was seeing. “I think she’s trying, but — It looks like there’s more than one layer?”

Kakashi nodded, then formed the sign for ‘kai’. “Then all she needs is a little help.”

With a flare of chakra, the genjutsu shattered.

“Wuh?” Rin shook her head. “Kakashi?” She turned her head. “Obito?” Then her brain kicked back into gear and she jolted back to Kakashi. “Oh my god, your eye!”

He swatted away her fussing like he had Obito’s earlier. “Not now, we have to get out of here. There could be more out there.”

“Tch.” They all spun to face the entrance. The man they thought they’d taken down was by the entrance, clutching his stomach. “Smart kid. Too bad you’re a little late.” He flashed through handsigns then slammed a hand to the ground. “Doton; Iwayado Kuzushi!”

The cave started shaking, the ceiling collapsing in on them.

“Shit!” Kakashi usually didn’t swear, so it said something about the situation that he did so now. “Move!”

They did, rushing towards the cave mouth. But a smaller piece, more of a rock than a boulder, blindsided Kakashi, hitting him in the back of the head. 

He fell to the ground. Obito watched, in slow motion, as a boulder fell, on a direct collision course with the younger boy. And suddenly, he realized he’d never have made any other choice.

He shoved Kakashi out of the way.

__________

When Obito came back to consciousness, he knew something was  _ deeply _ wrong. He didn’t hurt that much, just around the edges of where the boulder hit him, but he couldn’t feel most of his right side.

Mostly he felt… tired.

He stared at the ceiling through the haze of dust, and knew it was worth it. Even if he didn’t survive, he’d saved Kakashi. He didn’t think he would have been able to live with himself if he hadn’t.

He wheezed, unable to properly cough. It sort of hurt to breathe.

He heard shifting, and then Kakashi was there, Rin behind him.

“Obito…” he whispered, eyes wide. “No, no,  _ Obito — _ ”

“Hey, Bakashi…” If breathing hurt, talking was another level. “I’d say we’re even, but… this is a little worse… than an eye… yeah?”

“ _ God _ , Obito, I’m sorry,” Kakashi sank to his knees, bracing a hand on the rock. “I’m not — I didn’t —”

“ ‘s fine, ‘kashi…” Obito closed his uncovered eye. “Knew this could happen. Saw the boulder coming. Still… pushed you away.” He coughed weakly. “I don’t… regret it.”

“No, it’s  _ not _ fine,  _ you’re _ not fine!” It sounded like Kakashi punched the ground. “I  _ just _ figured it out! You can’t — you can’t —!”

He reached out blindly, and hand was grasped in two familiarly callused ones. “Hey, Rin.” He squeezed her hand, and she returned it.

“H-hey, Obito,” she replied shakily.

“I’ve… got a request.”

“Anything, Obito,” she said, “Anything.”

He opened his eye and looked right at her. He knew they were red; he’d never deactivated them. “Give… Kakashi my eye… would you?” He saw her shocked look, and smiled. “Never… gave him a jonin present… ‘s not like I’ll… be using it.”

“…Obito?” Kakashi’s voice was hoarse.

“You’ll do great with it. Bet it’ll… help with chidori.” He grinned. “Keep it with you. So I can… see the future… with you.”

Kakashi and Rin looked at each other, then nodded. Kakashi moved to lay next to Obito, and Rin transferred the eye. When they finished, Kakashi stood. If Obito listened closely, he could hear the sound of tears hitting the ground.

He sighed. “I love you. Both of you.” The cave started rumbling again. “Take care of each other… would you?”

“Of course,” said Rin.

“I promise,” said Kakashi.

They left, and the rest of the cave fell. As the light was blocked out by rock, Obito thought about Madara, and the fate of his alternate self.

_ Huh, _ he thought as he blacked out,  _ I’m not sure if I’d rather die or not. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen,, listen,,,, Rin is a medic. Which requires chakra control. Are you really trying to convince me she couldn't get out of one (1) genjutsu, Kishimoto??? and that Kakashi, who at this point is more of a tank than a finesse guy, could easily do it when she can't??? Women are allowed to have skills, Kishi. They don't always have to be the damsel in distress,,,, _Kishi_
> 
> Some "I love you"s!!!! are they platonic? Romantic?? Platonic at the time only to become romantic later??? guess you'll have to wait and see ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	5. A Brief Change in Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for a fic about Obito, this chapter has a depressing lack of Obito
> 
> so, be prepared for that
> 
> ANGST AHOY

When they left the cave, leaving their third behind, they knew nothing would ever be the same again. He was their linchpin — what held them together. Without him, they might well self-destruct.

As they stepped out into the sunlight to face the swarm of enemies that had appeared, they cried. They cried because they were grieving, because they were in pain, but also because they were  _ furious. _

How  _ dare _ they. How  _ dare  _ they take Obito away from them.

And so, they fought, and they fought, until they couldn’t fight anymore. Until the tide of opponents overwhelmed them so much that Kakashi used the special kunai their Sensei had given him.

And, in a flash, he was there. He quickly decimated the opposing forces, then went to his two remaining students.

“Are you alright?” He fussed over them briefly, then looked around the clearing. “Where’s Obito?”

Rin bit her lip and lowered her gaze. Kakashi clenched his fists and looked away.

“…No.” He looked between the two of them, his face a mask of horror. “No, where— How—?!”

Rin pointed at the collapsed cave behind them. “He… he never made it out.”

“It was my fault,” Kakashi said abruptly. “I didn’t see the rock. Didn’t finish off the enemy. Didn’t—.” He grit his teeth. “Didn’t want to come back for you.”

Rin turned to face him, and grabbed him by the shoulders. Kakashi looked away, fearing the worst, but Rin wasn’t having any of that.

“Absolutely not. Look at me, Kakashi.” He reluctantly obeyed, and she continued. “It was  _ not your fault. _ Do understand me? If anyone’s responsible, it’s the man who collapsed the cave. Even before that, there was the one who grabbed me. If he hadn’t, we never would have been in that position.”

He swallowed. “I know, I know,” he said, softly, “I just — I feel like, if I’d just — done better —!”

Rin pulled him into a hug, and he clutched at the back of her shirt.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he repeated shakily into her shoulder, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Minato reached over and put a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder. “The worst thing about this life is that sometimes —” He clenched his jaw, before continuing. “Sometimes there’s nothing you could have done.”

__________

There was no funeral beyond the mass one for the soldiers lost in the war. They didn’t have a body to bury, so Obito didn’t get a grave. All that was left of him was his eye, and a name on the memorial stone.

Kakashi spent a lot of time in front of the stone. Sometimes Rin was with him, but most of the time she was at the hospital learning iryo ninjutsu. She wanted to be better, to be the best medic in the world, so she didn’t have to watch a friend die ever again.

Kakashi trained. Trained, and stood in front of the stone. In the sun, in the rain, in the dark. He stood, his hitai-ate slanted over Obito’s eye, and traced the name. When he wasn’t at the stone, he worked himself into the ground, trying to be  _ better, faster —  _

Rin came across him, shaking and exhausted, trying to  _ just do it one more time, come on, you have to be better — ! _

She grabbed his arms, stopping him in his tracks. “Kakashi, stop!” she pleaded, “You’re hurting yourself!”

“I don’t  _ care! _ ” He clenched his fists. “I’m not  _ good enough. _ ”

“You can’t keep doing this to yourself!” She looked at him pleadingly. “Obito wouldn’t want this!”

He snarled, trying to shake off her grip. But he was too spent, the endless pushing himself catching up with him. “Obito would want to be  _ alive! _ ”

Rin’s grip on his wrists tightened, and her face hardened. “No.” She stated firmly, “Not if the price was your life. He would have died for  _ either _ of us in a second, and you know it, because that’s just  _ how he was _ .”

“Why?!” He gave another yank on his hands, before stilling. “Why  _ me? _ If it was you I’d understand! He  _ loved  _ you! But I’m — !”

“He loved me, but it wasn’t — like  _ that _ .” She smiled sadly at him. “He loved you too, you know. Even when you annoyed him.”

He took a deep, shuddering breath, and then looked at the ground, shoulders hunched. “I don’t deserve it.”

Rin sighed, then shifted her grip so she was holding his hands. She rested her head against his. “Nobody deserved him.” She closed her eyes. “But that doesn’t mean he loved us any less.”

__________

It took a while — months, really — before they built up the courage to go into Obito’s house. But they couldn’t just leave it; they had to pack up his stuff so another Uchiha could use the building.

Apparently, it was ‘clan resources’, and it was ‘being wasted on a ghost’.

Kakashi and Rin weren’t happy with that, especially the phrasing, but there was nothing they could do. They were already on thin ice with the noble clan, since Kakashi, along with Rin and Minato, had vehemently denied their request (demand) to return Obito’s eye.

So they got boxes, and they packed everything they could.

They entered the bedroom last, Kakashi leading. Though he’d never actually seen it before, it was simultaneously exactly what he expected, and the exact opposite. It was cleaner than he’d expected from someone as chaotic as Obito — everything was sort of organised. Not spiffy clean, like Kakashi’s own, but… tolerable.

There was a surprise on the walls, too, in the form of hundreds of colorful drawings, strung up on tacked-down strings. Kakashi didn’t look closely at all of them, but from what he could see they were mostly pictures of people and places in Konoha.

One, which he went up to to examine further, was of their team. It was cartoony, and the anatomy wasn’t great, but looking at it gave Kakashi an odd, bittersweet feeling.

The things that didn’t surprise him were the things like the fuuinjutsu notes scattered around the room. Or the potted plants on the windowsill. Or the candy wrappers littered in and around the wastebasket. Or the stuffed animals on his bed.

Kakashi and Rin stacked all the drawings in one pile, and but them in their own container. They did the same with the Fuuinjutsu, but with a special container to help contain any unfortunate accidents.

They moved around the room, packing as they went. Kakashi walked up to the desk in the corner, ready to start a new box, and stopped.

Sitting on the desk, more accusing than anything the Uchiha Clan Elders could throw at him, was a single wrapped present.

He picked it up, staring at the blue paper and the white bow. His grip tightened, and the paper crinkled.

“Kakashi?” Rin stood behind him, concerned. After being on a team with him for a while, she’d learned how to read minute changes in body language in order to read his mood. That wasn’t necessary now though. His shoulders were slumped, his muscles tense. His head, bowed.

“He did say he’d left it on his desk, didn’t he,” he said quietly, “I’d forgotten, after… everything else.”

He opened it right then and there, under her watchful gaze. It was a mask, similar to the one he always wore, but the note that came with it said that Obito and Kushina had worked together on it. They’d made it with fuuinjutsu to filter out strong smells, but not weak ones, so he could still track things.

“Fuck,” he choked, “ _ fuck—”  _

He clutched it close, and cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi is just so goddamn guilty
> 
> I had to fucking MAKE UP a personality/grieving process for Rin, that's how little effort Kishimoto put into writing her,,, smh,,,
> 
> I CAN and WILL use EVERY AVAILABLE OPPORTUNITY to drag kishi's writing choices thru the mud, because *singing badly* wE COULD've HAD iT AAaaaAALLL


	6. Madara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's late!!! I got caught up in KHR and forgot 😅
> 
> but it's here now!!!! lemme tell you, this was THE chapter that made me write the whole fic. Like, there's other stuff i wanna write from here on out, but this one was the original idea

When Obito woke up, he was a little surprised. He had known this was the most likely scenario, but he’d really  _ felt _ like he was dying.

He sort of still did, if he was being honest.

He looked around, taking in the dark cave, freaky statue, withered old man, and weird white people.

“Okay,” He said, “I’m going to admit, I’m a little freaked out.”

“Ah,” said the the oldest man he’d ever seen, “You’re awake.”

“I’m glad you’re sure of that,” He replied, “because  _ I’m _ sure not.”

“I found you under a pile of rocks, half crushed and near death.” The old man, who was probably Madara, continued speaking, ignoring Obito’s color commentary. “I brought you here to heal you.”

“Ah, so I’m not in hell then, good to know.” Obito nodded. “I figured that was the case, what with there being more confusion than agony, but the statue kinda threw me off.”

Probably-Madara heaved a sigh, likely of annoyance. “I don’t know what’s gotten into the youth of today. Not even a mention of thanks? I had no  _ need _ to save your life.”

“Oh, right,” Obito said, “Well, I wasn’t sure if you’d saved me for nefarious purposes, so I was holding off on that. Wouldn’t do to thank you if you were just going to, like, enslave me or something, but you seem pretty chill, so.” He turned to probably-Madara and bowed as best he could from his position seated on the bed. World domination aside, he  _ was _ grateful to not be dead. “Thank you, for saving me. If you have need of my aid, I will offer my services.” He raised his head and grinned. “Within reason, of course. I  _ do _ have prior obligations.”

Probably-Madara nodded in acknowledgement. Bastard seemed sorta smug, which Obito didn’t like, but if he thought he was winning he could get overconfident. The best way to avoid manipulation is to pretend like it worked.

One of the white things (Zetsus?), the swirly one, came over. “Is one of them to a bell? You kept saying in your sleep, ‘Rin-rin’, over and over.”

Another one, one that was more humanoid, chimed in. “Yeah, and ‘Bakashi.’ What’s a Bakashi?”

Obito blushed a bit. “Oh. Uh, no. It’s not a bell, it’s ‘Rin’, and the other one’s actually ‘Kakashi’, I just call him that ‘cuz he’s annoying.” He smiled. “They’re my teammates.”

__________

It was confirmed, eventually, that the white things were called ‘Zetsus’ and that the old guy was actually Uchiha Madara; Nukenin Extraordinaire™. Obito wasn’t thrilled that he wasn’t allowed to leave, but it wasn’t exactly like he could walk far anyway.

Listening to Madara wax poetic about his plan to take over the world was somewhere between hilarious and terrifying. Hilarious, because even coming from someone as charismatic as Madara, the plan sounded ridiculously absurd. The terrifying part came in because Obito  _ knew. _ He  _ knew _ how far Madara was willing to go. What he was willing to do.

And that, to an extent, it would work. If Obito kept following the script, if he let Madara’s words infect him, he might nearly succeed. Might actually succeed, since Obito knew something of the future.

But his knowledge also calmed him. Because he  _ knew _ the consequences. He knew the Infinite Tsukuyomi wouldn’t be what he wanted. And he knew that even in the depths of self-delusion, Naruto and Kakashi could sucker-punch him back to the side of the light.

So when he wasn’t training his body back to shinobi standard, he was meditating. Or at least, that’s what it looked like on the surface. In reality it was a little more than that. Every day, after physical training, he would sit on the bed ( _ not his, never his _ ) and focus inward.

He knew from last time that his Zetsu arm wouldn’t be strong enough in time if he left it as-is. So every day he used what knowledge he had of iryo-ninjutsu to strengthen the plant-like flesh. And while he did, he familiarized himself with the odd chakra flowing through it. Chakra that felt like  _ new-growth-and-sun-warmed-leaves _ .

He had a feeling that was the mokuton chakra. He didn’t test it, couldn’t while Madara was watching. But within the confines of his own body, (and it was his, new additions or not,) he played with the new energy. And slowly, so slowly he barely noticed, the chakra’s undertone of  _ dark-sickly-artificial _ faded, until it seemed as if it was never there in the first place. (It was really  _ his  _ arm, now.)

__________

When the day came that a Zetsu told him that his teammates were in trouble, he’d regained full mobility, grown several inches, and had hair down to his chin. He had no idea how long he’d been here, but it felt like  _ months _ .

He only stopped long enough to ask which direction before he put his plan in motion.

He looked at the boulder, and clenched his fist. If what he’d done had worked… He closed his eyes, and ran one last sweep of medical chakra through the appendage. He thought about what he remembered of Tsunade’s strength technique. He didn’t think he could manage it in actual battle, but the cave was safe  _ enough _ , and free of too many distractions.

He leaped up, and ran for the exit, concentrating on nothing but the chakra in his fist. He reared back, preparing to strike —

Guruguru reached out a hand. “Don’t — !”

— and punched the boulder, shattering it into a million pieces. He flexed his Zetsu hand. It felt weird, a little wobbly, but it held up, if only barely. His novice iryo-ninjutsu had worked.

He grabbed a cloak, and ran through the exit. “Sorry, Madara-sama,” he said on his way out, “But this is one of those ‘prior obligations’.”

He leapt through the trees in the direction Zetsu had told him. He had to get there in time, or else everything will have been for — not nothing, not exactly — but something very close.

As he got closer, he could hear fighting in the distance. He ran, knowing he was near, but stumbled when an odd feeling of vertigo washed over him. He pressed on, ignoring it, but it was quickly followed by a strange sort of double-vision.

He was nearly there when he saw Rin through it, and realized what was happening.

“No,” he whispered, and sped up. “No, no,  _ no _ .”

He burst through the tree line just in time to see Kakashi’s hand go through Rin’s chest. He saw from two perspectives; Kakashi’s and his own. He screamed a wordless cry of rage and anguish.

It was his fault, Madara did this to get  _ him, he killed her—  _

He ran forward, not even noticing the burn in his eye. The Kiri-nin tried to attack him, but he slipped through their weapons like a ghost, sharp roots rising in his wake.

He had to get to Rin.

When he reached the collapsed form of his two teammates, the last thing he would have expected to do was sob in relief. But that’s what he did, because Rin wasn’t  _ quite _ dead yet. If she was anyone else, she would have been, but even if it was only for a day, Rin was a  _ Jinchuuriki. _ And they were hardy stock.

But she wasn’t entwined with her bijuu enough to heal all the way — it was just enough to keep her alive a little longer.

Obito flooded his hands with healing chakra, trying to find a way to help. But he wasn’t good enough of a medic to heal her; it was all he could do to keep her alive, and even that was only because mokuton chakra took strangely well to healing. The damage was just too extensive.

In that moment, Obito knew why Chidori was called an assassination jutsu, despite its noise level. It was because it killed  _ absolutely. _ There was no coming back from it.  _ No one _ survived it.

Except —

Except, that wasn’t quite true, was it? There was one person, in the other version of this world, who’d taken a chidori to the chest and lived.  _ Naruto. _

The Kyuubi had healed him.

The Sanbi could heal her, too. But there wasn’t enough of their chakra in her system. He needed to somehow trigger a larger overflow. That thought sparked another, and he remembered an off-hand remark from his lessons with Kushina about why she never used —

“Chakra pills!” Obito’s eyes widened. Chakra pills were dangerous for Jinchuuriki because they aggravated and replenished the Bijuu’s chakra as well! Which oftentimes caused an uncontrolled  _ overflow. _

He kept his Zetsu arm over Rin’s chest, and dug around in her pouches with his other hand. Finding what he was looking for, he popped one in her mouth, and made her swallow it. It worked, sort of — he saw the red of Bijuu chakra, and the wound healed some, but not enough. He gave her another pill.

A spark of red chakra welled up, followed by another, and another. The ghastly wound slowly knit back together, until the red chakra petered out. It hadn’t healed her completely, she still had a nasty burn that would likely scar, but she wasn’t in immediate danger of dying anymore.

Any more chakra pills would be dangerous, so it would have to be enough.

He dragged Kakashi over to them, and clutched his teammates close to his chest. He focused on the burning in his eye, and thought only one thing;

_ I want Sensei. _

The world twisted, and he fell heavily to the ground somewhere else. He looked up, and caught sight of yellow.

“Rin’s a bijuu bomb,” he managed to get out, “Fix it.”

Then he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the solution to the Rin problem was inspired by "howling at the unfeeling stars" by PadaFlower!!
> 
> I totally named all the chapters kinda dramatic long-ish names _just_ so a title of "Madara" would stand out because that's just the kind of person i am (a drama queen)


	7. Reactions to an Unexpected Revival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing minato is fun bc hes a wimp half the time and an absolute badass the other half
> 
> the wimp side is more fun tho

Minato expected a lot of things. He was on a mission, so anything could go wrong at any time. Enemies could attack, the plan could fail, someone could get sick. He’d even had a mission once get interrupted by a stampeding herd of wild hogs.

Minato expected a lot of things, and beyond that there were things he wouldn’t expect but wouldn’t be surprised to see.

Those things did not include all three of his students ( _ including the one that was SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD _ ) suddenly materializing in front of him. He managed to hold on to his composure long enough to take Obito’s advice ( _ he’s  _ **_alive_ ** _?!)  _ and stabilize Rin’s seal.

Then he had a little bit of a breakdown.

After he’d calmed down enough to be functional, he made the executive decision to immediately head back to Konoha, screw the mission, because  _ holy shit. _ And beyond the details, he’d found three injured Konoha shinobi, one of which was presumed dead, and one of which was apparently a jinchuuriki now.

He thought he could be forgiven for scrapping the mission, given the circumstances.

Hiraishin-ing back to Konoha with not one, but  _ three _ tagalongs was a little tiring. But, well. Extenuating circumstances.

Did he mention this whole situation was absolutely bat-shit?

He landed right in the middle of the Hokage’s office, the Sandaime in the middle of doing paperwork.

“Minato-kun, you’re early. I do hope whatever happened wasn’t too — ” Sarutobi looked up and froze. He blinked. “...What…?”

“They need a hospital. Kakashi’s chakra exhausted, Rin’s been turned into a jinchuuriki, and, uh.” He glanced at the third child. “Obito’s alive. Apparently.”

“ _ What. _ ”

“Obito is apparently alive.” Minato felt oddly detached from the world. Wasn’t that called, like, dissociation? Or something? He’d heard Inoichi talking about it once… “I’m going to take them to the hospital, and then I’m going to find Kushina, and then I might have another breakdown. You should probably, y’know… make sure Obito’s really Obito. I guess.”

Sarutobi covered his face with his hands and sighed. “I’d like a report at some point.”

Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, Minato teleported to the hospital. They quickly got his students situated, and Minato stood in place, staring off into space for a few seconds.

“Are you… alright?” asked one of the nurses.

“I think I’m dissociating.” Minato blinked. “I’m going to go find my girlfriend and maybe scream into a pillow for a couple minutes. I’ll be back later to check on them.”

He teleported right into Kushina’s house, using a marker he’d placed a while ago but never actually used, for fear of being rude.

“Minato?” Kushina peeked her head out of her study. “You’re back early. Did something happen?”

He walked over to her, and gathered he into a hug, burying his face into her shoulder. Her hands came up to hug him back, but she was still confused.

“Lots of things happened.” His words came out a little muffled, but they were understandable. He could feel the cracks forming in the mental box he’d temporarily shoved all his feelings into.  “The main points are that Rin’s a jinchuuriki now and Obito is alive.”

“What?!”

“Rin is — ”

“No, I heard what you said, I just — ” Kushina pushed him away and held him by his shoulders at arm’s length. “We’re moving this conversation to the couch.”

With a bit of maneuvering, she frog marched him into the living room and onto the couch. 

“Okay,” she said as she sat down, “Start from the beginning.”

__________

After Minato and Kushina had had some time to process everything, they went to the hospital. The three kids had been placed in the same room, three beds lined up along the wall.

Kakashi and Obito were mostly just chakra exhausted. Kakashi had some minor injuries standard to being in a battle, and Obito had… something, grafted to the right side of his body, but neither of them were in any particular danger.

Rin, though. Rin had an ugly fist-sized burn on her chest. Minato didn’t want to think about it, but… it looked a lot like what he’d seen of the aftermath of Kakashi’s chidori. And there was a matching burn on her back. It looked almost like… she been run through? But the inside of her chest, the stuff between the burns, wasn’t damaged. The burns tapered off as they got deeper into her body.

It sort of looked like she’d been healed from the inside out.

…Which made sense, considering she was a jinchuuriki, now. But Minato had seen the seal, had showed a copy of what he remembered to Kushina, and they agreed that the seal didn’t allow enough intermingling to heal a wound of the caliber suggested by the marks.

“I mean, really, it doesn’t even really allow use of the bijuu’s chakra. It’s built like a dam, not a faucet, the only way for chakra to get out would be — ” Kushina cut off. “We’re morons. Rin’s a medic, and Kakashi’s… Kakashi.”

“Huh?” Minato didn’t follow.

“Chakra pills, Minato.”

Minato blinked. Then he blinked again, eyes widening in realization. “Oh! Overflow, that’s…”

“Genius,” Kushina said, “Also risky as  _ fuck. _ Rin couldn’t have done it herself, if the wound was what we think it was, well.” She grimaced. “She wouldn’t have been in any shape to. That leaves Kakashi or Obito. My bet’s on Obito.”

Minato winced. “I can… see why you’d say that.”

“Not like  _ that _ , Minato.” Kushina rolled her eyes. “You said Obito’s the one who got them to you, right? Kakashi was passed out. Plus Obito knows more about iryo-ninjutsu — and healing in general — that Kakashi.”

Minato sighed, and leaned over to rest his head on Kushina’s shoulder. “I hope they wake up soon. I’m not — I don’t — ” He swallowed. “I  _ need _ to know. What happened. Not just here, but…”

Kushina followed his gaze to where Obito laid, still and quiet, under the covers of his hospital bed. Knowing Minato wasn’t done, she waited, not saying anything yet.

“…He was supposed to be  _ dead. _ I’m thankful he’s not, of course, but it’s just — ” He made a distressed noise. “Someone had him. Saved him.”

_ And I didn’t. _ Minato didn’t say it, but Kushina knew him. Knew how he thought.

“Someone saved him, and — and I should be grateful, but I just thought — or think,” He swiped his tongue over his lips, and took a breath. “Why didn’t they bring him back? He’s — he’s healed. Has been, for a while, if what the medics said was any indication. If whoever it was cared enough to help him, why didn’t they bring him  _ home? _ ”

Kushina’ eyes narrowed, looking at Minato consideringly.

“I know,” said Minato, “It’s kind of paranoid, but — ”

“No, no,” Kushina said, “Actually. You have a point. Because…” She hesitated. “Even if there was a reason that they couldn’t bring him back. Like if they had other patients, or were, like, a missing-nin or something — Do you think Obito would stay away from Konoha, from his team, for even a second longer than he had to?”

Minato sat up straight, eyes widening. He  _ wasn’t  _ crazy, then. “No, he wouldn’t have let anything get in his way. He’d get back to us, even if he had to  _ crawl _ .”

“Which  _ means, _ ” Kushina growled, “That someone  _ made _ him stay. And I don’t know about you, but if I ever find them, they’re gonna get a face-full of chakra chains, dattebane!”

Their eyes met, and they both nodded. No one messed with their kids and got away with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone else have trouble deciding where people's verbal tics should go??? bc every time I write kushina or naruto I'm like??? where it go??? how many is too many??? 
> 
> anyway 
> 
> next chap we get kiddo reuinions!! Kakashi's reaction was 👌👌👌 to write, man, I had that scene visualized for like,, weeks,,,


	8. Awakenings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is so late!! I sorta... jumped fandoms...  
> I'm one of those folks that has one obsession at a time, generally, so I got into Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and dropped everything else for a bit.  
> I'm in a rare between-obsessions state at the moment, so i'm not sure when the next chapter will be out.

When Obito woke up, he was momentarily thrown off by how  _ bright _ it was. It was always dark in the cave, the only light from the fires placed strategically to make it  _ just _ light enough to see.

Then he remembered. Leaving, and Kakashi and Rin, and healing Rin and… getting to sensei? Somehow?

Wait, didn’t that other him have teleportation abilities? Mangekyo, though, which required — 

… 

Well, Rin  _ wasn’t _ dead. Not really. He’d gotten there in time. He’d saved her. She wasn’t dead. She was fine.

Well — maybe not fine. But she was  _ alive. _

Obito looked around, taking in his surroundings. Hospital, definitely. He was in one bed, and down next to him, in the other two — 

Rin and Kakashi.

They were both okay.

Something in him settled. They were okay. He’d known, at least theoretically, that they should be, but... 

Hm. He had a nagging suspicion that his months with Madara had affected him in more ways that just the obvious.

He looked to his other side, and took in the sight of Minato-sensei and Kushina, sitting in chairs to the side of the room, asleep leaning against each other.

Obito snickered. They were kind of adorable.

“Oi,” he called softly, “Oiiii, Sensei. Minato-sensei!”

Minato stirred, blinking awake. He moved around a bit, also rousing Kushina. He blinked, sleepily, and then again, before taking in what he was seeing and bolting upright.

Obito grinned.

“Obito!” Minato exclaimed, “You’re awake!”

That woke Kushina up the rest of the way, and soon Obito was being hugged by  _ both _ his teachers.

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Minato said.

At the same time, Kushina said her own piece. “You are never allowed to scare me like that  _ ever again _ . Got it, brat?”

“Heh heh.” Obito grinned, his eye feeling damp. “I’m glad to be back. And don’t worry, Kushina-san, I’m not planning on it.”

When they pulled away, Obito glanced in the direction of his teammates. “Are they…?”

“They’re going to be okay.” Minato smiled gently. “Kakashi’s just chakra exhausted, and, well, Rin’s going to have a scar, but…” He reached out and ruffled Obito’s hair. “You got to them in time.”

Obito closed his eyes, still smiling. “Good.”

“You should go back to sleep,” Minato said, “You were chakra exhausted too. You need rest.”

Obito was already drifting, regardless of advice. “…Alright,” he managed to murmur, before he succumbed to sleep.

__________

When Kakashi woke up, it wasn’t a gradual thing. One moment he was asleep, and the next he was sitting upright, looking around the room.

Where was he?  _ White, bed, antiseptic — _ Hospital. ( _ god he hated hospitals) _ Three beds. One for him, one empty, ( _ recently vacated? _ ) and in the last one one — 

Rin.

He stiffened, then climbed out of bed and over towards her. Bandages peeked out from under her hospital gown, stretching slightly with each breath she took. Because she was  _ alive. _

But — how?

He’d killed her, he knew it. He’d felt his hand go through her chest, he’d failed, he wasn’t  _ good enough strong enough fast enough —  _

His whirling thoughts were cut off when the door opened.

“Kakashi!” Minato sounded relieved, but Kakashi didn’t turn around to look, his gaze fixed on Rin. “You’re awake! We were starting to get worried.”

Kakashi nodded to show he heard, but didn’t take his eyes off Rin. He raised his hand to… touch her, brush her hair out of her face, something to make sure she was  _ real _ — but stopped halfway through the motion. His hand shook.

He could still feel it piercing her chest. Still hear the sound of her falling off his arm to the ground. Still smell the scent of burnt flesh.

Minato stepped up beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “She’s going to be fine. A nasty scar, but not much else.” He took his hand off. “We were lucky. We got to her in time.”

He stared at his hand. The one that had — With the lightning, and the blood, and the  _ Kiri nin —  _

“ _ How? _ ” he choked. He wasn’t sure if he meant her surviving or them getting to them or… 

A pair of mismatched hands — one normal one and one oddly smooth — covered his eyes. From directly behind him came a voice he never thought he’d hear again.

“Guess who!”

Kakashi whirled around, and the hands came to rest awkwardly on his shoulders, but he didn’t care. 

Longer hair, new scars, and mismatched arms. But the dazzling smile and the warmth in that eye couldn’t be faked.

“Obito?” Kakashi breathed.

“Hey Bakashi.” Obito grinned. “Sorry I’m late.”

Choked up, Kakashi lunged, wrapping his arms around his prodigal teammate. Obito laughed, bright and clear, returning the embrace.

“You moron,” Kakashi said hoarsely, “You stupid,  _ stupid _ — !”

“Yeah, yeah.” Obito squeezed tighter. “Love you too, bastard.”

__________

When Rin woke up, the first thing to come to her mind was  _ Why am I alive? _ Quickly followed by  _ How am I alive? _

She had jumped in front of Kakashi’s chidori, she knew, and it had  _ definitely _ made contact. She remembered.

She evidently didn’t have a hole in her chest, though, considering the fact that she was alive, so something had happened. Something — or someone — had healed her.

She shifted, making to sit up, and was stopped cold by a flare of pain in her abdomen. 

Okay, so not  _ fully  _ healed _. _ She’d keep that in mind. But now that she was properly awake, with open eyes and everything, she realised that yup, this was a hospital. Konoha hospital, in fact, because she had spent so much time there that she would recognise it — well, in severe pain from a nearly fatal injury.

Shifting again, more carefully this time, she looked down her bed to find two slumped forms sleeping almost on her legs. One, already stirring from her movement, was Kakashi — clear from the silver rat’s nest he called a hairstyle — but the other, a shaggy head of black hair, she didn’t recognise. There was something, a nagging familiarity, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

Kakashi lifted his head, blinked, and then straightened. “Rin!”

This stirred the other, who started waking up.

“Kakashi.” Rin glanced at the other boy (?) questioningly. “Who — ?”

But then his head lifted, and his hair parted and his eye ( _ just the one —  _ ) opened, and — 

“Obito?”

He grinned, and — yes. Maybe this was a dream ( _ it couldn’t be, dreams never hurt this much _ ) but that was Obito. Her best friend, her sort-of apprentice, her  _ dead _ ( _ not anymore! _ ) teammate. 

“Rin!” He scooted his chair over and grasped her hand. She had a feeling that he wanted to hug her, but was restraining the urge due to her injuries. “You’re awake!”

She squeezed his hand. The one on top of hers felt odd, smooth, but the one in her grasp was normal. (The ever-present medic side of her, currently relegated to the back of her brain due to shock, speculated wildly. Prosthesis? It moved very smoothly, didn’t have joints, was it chakra powered — ?) 

“Obito…” She had so many questions, she didn’t know where to start, really. “How…?”

“That…” Obito hedged, “Is a long story.” He blinked. “Oh, but now that you’re awake I can tell everyone in one go! And we can make our report, and Sensei can tell the Hokage…”

He stood up, releasing her hand. “Ah! I should get Sensei!” He walked to the door, halfway through turning around and pointing a finger at Kakashi. “Don’t you dare move, Bakashi! It’s a miracle you’re alive with that level of chakra exhaustion, so you will  _ damn well rest. _ ”

He left. Kakashi had a somewhat sheepish look on his face, but it was also fond. He seemed worse off than Obito, from what she could see, with actual bandages and bruises.

And he was avoiding her eyes.

She bit her lip. “Kakashi, I…”

She clenched her fists into her sheets.

“ _ I’m sorry! _ ”

Shocked, she looked up. They’d spoken in unison.

“What?” She looked at him incredulously. “Why are  _ you  _ sorry? I was the one that…” She trailed off, raising a hand to her chest.

“I’m not — I should have stopped, or, or — gotten us out faster, I just...” He took a breath. “I was supposed to protect you. It was — it was my fault.”

“ _ What?! _ No! It was my fault! Kakashi, I jumped! I knew you wouldn’t — you couldn’t stop, I  _ knew, _ I was  _ counting on it _ , because there was something wrong, something dark inside me but — ” She sniffed, and the tears started pouring. “I shouldn’t have done it, shouldn’t have put it on you, you didn’t deserve that, I just  _ didn’t know what to do —  _ !”

She scrubbed at her eyes, willing the tears to stop, but they just kept coming.

The door opened, and Obito walked in, followed by Minato-sensei.

“Wha — ” Obito walked over to the bed, hands on his hips. “I leave the room for five minutes and you both start crying!”

Surprised, she looked over and — yes, those were tears Kakashi was frantically drying.

“Shut up, dobe,” Kakashi grumbled halfheartedly, “ ‘s your eye. Crybaby.”

“Yeah, see,” Obito said sagely, “That would be a better excuse if the eyeball was actually what produced the tears. I didn’t give you my  _ tear ducts _ as a jounin present, now did I?”

Kakashi snickered, and then they were all laughing. It hurt, a little, but Rin was glad. They were all together, and alive, and they could work together to keep it that way.

It really was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took forever for me to start Rin's section, but once I did, _holy shit_ it took off. It's like,, nearly half the chapter


End file.
